"It was you," she murmured in a daze as her mind went back to New Year's party.
She couldn't absorb his words in a second or two. It took her longer. As a matter of fact, she did not want to accept that he was the one either.
She could have never guessed that Ilyan was the one whom she had stumbled upon in the New Year's party had he himself not revealed.
Her gaze stared at the water blankly and her hands pressed firmly pressed the ground.
If she could, she would erase that entire day from her life.
That day where she had lost her control in a public place. In front of a stranger.
That day when she had cried her eyes out and poured her heart out in front of someone she wasn't aware of the existence of until that day.
To her, it was one of the worst days of her life.
Ilyan did not look a bit surprised at her reaction as if it was exactly as expected by him. "Irene, I -"
Her phone rang, cutting his words off.
She flipped the phone to see who it was. 'Ayden. Why is he calling me?'
She was rather surprised because the last conversation they had was bitter enough for her to expect that he wouldn't try to contact her at least for a couple of days.
She quite liked that she did not have to excuse herself from Ilyan because he had already stood up and moved distant enough to let her have her privacy.
She answered the call, trying to sound as casual as she pretended back in the cafe but color drained from her face within the next few seconds.
Ilyan, though standing at some distance, had his gaze on her and grew concerned watching her and the next moment, he saw her hurriedly getting up.
"I ha...have to go."
Having her stuttering in front of him with her face gripped with fear had him rush toward her. "What's wrong?"
"Acc...accident... I have to go." Her throat choked as she struggled to breathe.
"I will drop you. Just go outside. I am coming in a minute."
She shook her head. "No. It's... okay. I will take a cab."
"Alright. Feel free to take the cab if I don't show up before the cab does," he told her while he had already rushed from there in the same direction where they had come from.
Irene did not have the time to ponder over anything else. Ayden had met with an accident and that was all that had clouded her mind at that moment. All that she thought about, all that she cared about was... Ayden.
"Ren. Ren."
She had to stop in her place when two tiny hands circled around her legs. She fought the tears in her eyes and found that it was the same kid.
She bent to his length. "Hey, Baby. I am sorry but I have to go. Please let me go."
Delicately holding his wrists, she tried to free herself but he just moved closer. "Ren. Ren."
If it was not the situation where she was helpless because of her heart, she would have stayed back for as long as the kid wanted her to.
"I am really sorry but please let me go. I will come back to see you. I promise," she urged, and almost as if her pleading eyes told the tale of her misery to the kid, he took his hands back.
"Thank you." She squeezed his tiny hands and dashed out.
Her stumbling steps came to an abrupt halt when a silver-gray car stopped in front of her.
Ilyan gestured her to get inside. She quickly opened the door and stepped in.
"Where?" Ilyan asked as he drove out of the orphanage.
"Bridgeway Street."
Ilyan involuntarily slowed down the car when he heard the name.
"Are you sure? That's... a deserted and an abandoned street in case you are not aware." He shot her a brief glance before he caught up with the speed again.
"It is said that a girl was cheated by her boyfriend and he killed her when she confronted him. It is said that her dead body was disappeared and it wasn't found. The street is abandoned because she is said to kill the unfaithful folks whose hearts do not hold pure love. Are you scared? Why don't you just stop the car? I can go by myself."
Those were the last words that were spoken in the car. He pressed foot on the accelerator and made the way towards Bridgeway Street.
Irene was forgotten of what had gone wrong between Ayden and her.
She didn't bother about the fact that even after the entire fiasco, he had still refused to trust her regarding Ashton.
She was forgotten of the decision that she had made... the decision to stay away from Ayden... the decision to refrain herself from entering the circle around him again.
Nothing crossed her mind at that moment.
All that she did was pray and hope that he was okay.